Year Honored: 1987
Birth: 1901 – 1994
Biography
Gertrude M. Lowell was known as the “voice and legs of Delaware’s Seniors,” with her dedication to improving the lives of the elderly. Among her many accomplishments in that area is the Nemours Clinic, which she persuaded the Nemours Foundation to open as a program offering health services, including eyeglass distribution and prescription drugs, to the elderly poor.
Lowell also lobbied DART to make transportation easier for seniors, reducing fares by 50 percent and developing a bus route that stopped at Senior Centers in Wilmington. After discovering how few nutritional meals the elderly ate, Lowell also began working with Meals on Wheels. In 1973, she successfully lobbied for a nutrition program that ensured that all Delaware Seniors would receive at least one nutritionally balanced meal each day.
In 1975, Lowell established the Delaware Senior Citizen, a monthly publication that was delivered to more than 15,000 seniors. The Senior Citizen included news that was relevant to seniors, such as social security information and information on legislation at the state and national level regarding seniors.
Lowell has received award from the U.S Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; the National Council of Christians and Jews; and from former Wilmington Mayor, William McLaughlin, for her work.
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Sources and Additional Readings
Delaware Commission for Women. (2006). Twenty-Fifth Anniversary: Hall of Fame of Delaware Women: The Legacy Endures.
Thomas R. Carper Congressional Papers. Manuscript and Archival Collections Finding Aids. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://library.udel.edu/special/findaids/view?docId=ead%2Fmss0399.xml%3Btab
- Collections: 1987